The Met Office has appeared reluctant to support claims the UK could be hit with another "Beast from the East", bringing one of the coldest winters in years.
Experts at University College London (UCL) made the prediction of a particularly cold winter in the first of their long-range UK weather forecasts.
A team led by professor Mark Saunders came to the conclusion after looking at sea temperatures and air pressure over the North Atlantic.
However the Met Office says it isn't possible to accurately predict weather so far in advance, Lancashire Live reports.
A spokeswoman for the national weather service, Bonnie Diamond, said: "It is set to get colder as we head into winter, with snow possible in places - as it is every winter.
"We wouldn't support a forecast of a new Beast from the East or below average temperatures this winter this far ahead.
"We can provide a forecast for the next seven days, after that it becomes an outlook.
"The technology doesn't exist to accurately predict the weather that far ahead."
However bad this winter gets, we've still got some sunshine in Edinburgh to look forward to before September finishes.
We're set to get several days of hot weather in a mini "Indian summer" before thunderstorms at the weekend bring it to a conclusion.
What is the Beast from the East?
The worst of the storm hit Scotland early in 2018.
The phrase 'Beast from the East' was coined as the cold and wintry conditions in the UK resulted from easterly winds from the near continent.
When pressure is high over Scandinavia, the UK tends to experience a polar continental air mass.
When this happens in winter, cold air is drawn in from the Eurasian landmass bringing the cold and wintry conditions that give rise to the 'Beast from the East' moniker.
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